The way consumers search, discover, and purchase products is rapidly changing. Traditional search engines like Google have dominated this process, but their lengthy, multi-step journey often leads to drop-offs and a fragmented experience.
Today’s consumers, especially younger ones, seek faster, seamless experiences. TikTok and YouTube are capitalizing on this, transforming ecommerce by integrating discovery and purchasing directly in-app. This shift threatens to reduce the role of traditional search engines.
To stay competitive in this evolving ecommerce landscape, understanding how TikTok and YouTube are streamlining the buying journey is crucial. This article explores how these platforms transform the traditional search process, offering new opportunities to boost engagement and drive conversions through social search and shoppable content.
A look at the traditional search journey
The traditional search journey takes users from awareness to conversion, starting with broad informational queries as they research their needs, read reviews, and compare options. As they move through the funnel, searches become more specific, often leading to ecommerce platforms or brand websites where purchases are made. SEO and PPC ads play a key role in capturing attention throughout. However, this process can be long and complex, with multiple touchpoints that may cause distractions or drop-offs. TikTok and YouTube simplify this by combining discovery, consideration, and purchase into one seamless experience.
How TikTok and YouTube are redefining product discovery
Product discovery is rapidly evolving, with TikTok and YouTube becoming essential for brand awareness and consumer engagement, especially among younger audiences. These platforms are no longer just for entertainment or education – they’re now key sources for discovering new products and brands. Visual content and creators play a central role in this shift. User-generated videos, influencer marketing, and product demos connect with audiences in ways traditional ads can’t, offering authenticity and trust as creators showcase products in real-life scenarios. A major game-changer is the integration of direct shopping features on both platforms, allowing users to easily buy products without leaving the app. This streamlined experience encourages instant purchases, perfectly catering to the habits of today’s digital consumers.
In-app shopping on TikTok and YouTube is changing traditional search behavior by merging product discovery and purchase into a single, seamless experience. This reduces the time spent in each stage of the buying process, increasing conversion rates by minimizing distractions. The lines between content, commerce, and entertainment are blurring, creating a new model for online shopping.
Users are increasingly skipping traditional search engines and turning to social platforms for product recommendations and instant buying options. This shift from research-driven searches to more transactional, trend-focused ones reshapes online search. Traditional search engines are losing dominance in ecommerce as consumers trust creators, visual content, and real-time interactions more. TikTok and YouTube’s social commerce is quickly becoming the preferred shopping method, especially among younger users.
This shift presents both challenges and opportunities for brands. They must now optimize for search engines and social commerce, creating engaging, shoppable content and using creators to drive conversions. Adapting to these new platforms is essential to staying visible and boosting sales in today’s digital market.
How a luxury resale brand uses TikTok: Case study
Luxe Collective, a UK-based luxury resale brand, showcases how brands can use TikTok’s ecommerce tools like TikTok LIVE Shopping and TikTok Shop to boost sales and engage audiences. Luxe Collective has transformed how consumers find and buy high-end fashion products by blending its pre-loved luxury items with TikTok’s social commerce features.
Embracing TikTok LIVE Shopping
Luxe Collective’s success on TikTok can be attributed to its LIVE shopping events. The brand uses its massive follower base to showcase products in real-time. These live sessions allow them to engage directly with consumers, offer product insights, and respond to questions instantly, creating a sense of urgency and trust that encourages impulse buying. By using creator-style content and live unboxings, Luxe Collective taps into the growing trend of social proof, where customers trust creators and influencers for their product choices.
Ben Gallagher, Luxe Collective’s co-founder, recently shared that they sold two luxury bags for a total of £12,000 during one of their LIVE shopping experiences. This continues the brand’s success after its initial LIVE shopping experience launch earlier this year, where they sold 127 luxury items.
TikTok Shop integration
In addition to LIVE Shopping, Luxe Collective integrated the TikTok Shop feature, enabling users to purchase items directly within the app. Since the launch, they have sold 3,100 products. The brand successfully merges educational and entertaining content with authentic storytelling and easy in-app purchases.
The impact
This approach has paid off significantly for Luxe Collective, transforming the luxury resale market by growing sales and expanding its audience. As a pioneer in TikTok’s social commerce landscape, Luxe Collective’s engagement strategy offers a compelling case for other brands to explore these features.
Beauty brand P. Louise has also embraced TikTok as a content platform, launching a TikTok shop and regularly selling on the platform with 250,000 monthly orders. With a live shopping experience, they generated £1.5 million within a 12-hour session.
Key differences between traditional search and social search
When comparing traditional search to social search platforms like TikTok and YouTube in the context of ecommerce, the user experience diverges sharply. Traditional search follows a transactional mindset, focusing on users seeking out information to facilitate deliberate decisions. In contrast, TikTok and YouTube center around emotionally driven, social commerce experiences, often driven by impulse purchases spurred on by engaging visual content, creator endorsements, and community validation.
Content-driven commerce
Video content is key in reducing decision fatigue, as the visual nature of TikTok and YouTube allows consumers to quickly assess a product’s utility and appeal without extensive research. Endorsements by trusted creators lend credibility, making consumers more likely to purchase on the spot. The community aspect is another key differentiator, where real-time feedback drives immediate purchases.
In essence, TikTok, YouTube, and other social search platforms transform shopping into an engaging social experience, blurring the lines between content consumption and commerce. In contrast, traditional search remains a tool for methodical, research-based shopping.
What does all this mean for brands, SEOs, and wider marketing?
As TikTok and YouTube integrate ecommerce features, brands and marketers need to adapt their search strategies, optimizing for both traditional search engines and social commerce platforms. This involves a "search everywhere" approach.
Rethinking your search and SEO strategies
Brands must optimize their content for TikTok and YouTube by combining traditional SEO principles with social search strategies. This includes using relevant keywords, hashtags, trending sounds, and formats that resonate with these audiences. Influencers, user creators, and even employee creators play a vital role as brand ambassadors in this new search-to-buy process.
Embracing opportunities and challenges
The growth potential includes faster conversions and higher ROI, while brands must navigate algorithm challenges and increased competition. Creative and authentic content strategies are needed to maintain visibility.
Adapting to shoppable content
Brands must effectively integrate shoppable content into their videos and live streams. This involves using authentic creators, adding clickable shopping links during live streams, and using in-video prompts for easy purchasing. Agility and engagement are key for successful social commerce.
The rise of social search: TikTok and YouTube as ecommerce powerhouses
This rise signifies a significant shift in the traditional search journey. Brands and marketers can no longer rely solely on search engines like Google for awareness, discovery, and conversions. Emphasizing entertainment, community, and content, these platforms are now essential for consumers looking to find and purchase products.
To succeed in this new landscape, brands must be adaptable, optimizing for traditional and social commerce ecosystems and adopting a holistic "search everywhere" approach. Creator-driven content and seamless integration of shopping features into videos and live streams are crucial.
Ultimately, the blending of content and commerce on TikTok and YouTube could redefine the concept of search. We are moving towards a future where search becomes an experience rather than just a transactional process, especially as AI continues to evolve and influence these dynamics. Brands that embrace this "search everywhere" mindset will be well-positioned to lead in the next iteration of the search journey.
